Kalif Raymond: amazing fantasy story, and wildly unsustainable
Many reasons make Kalif Raymond great. There are even more reasons his fantasy value is poised to plummet.
Calif Raymond is a fantasy standout, yet his performance is largely unsustainable. In 2026, he's among only eight wideouts to average 9.0+ points per game. At 32 years old, he entered the season averaging 4.5 points per game, which is significantly below the current average of 11.0 points. Raymond outscored Luther Burden, Rome Odunze, and Colston Loveland in each game.
This makes the achievement surprisingly unlikely, although it's understandable when considering the context. When the season started, Burden had just recovered from a prolonged injury, Odunze was questionable due to a calf injury, and Loveland's future remained uncertain. Yet, Raymond has made the most of his opportunities. Entering 2026, he had only seven games with at least five catches, but he achieved this feat in all three games this month.
His six highest-yardage games this month solidify his position. Raymond is also one of the most mechanically proficient NFL receivers. Football analysts have rated quarterbacks favorably when targeting him, and he's only dropped two passes since 2022, targeting him 171 times. His pass-catching rate has improved significantly, from 80.0% last season to a remarkable 90.5% this season.
The most probable scenario for the future involves Burden continuing to improve, Odunze recovering his early-season form, and Loveland averaging more than 2.8 points per game. These improvements may push Raymond's fantasy production down to single digits more often than not. For a deeper dive into the risks of wagering on Raymond's fantasy performance, refer to this recent podcast. This analysis originally appeared on Touchdown Wire.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
